The OI, Fusion and Basis features read live Open Interest through Pix Connect and need an active Accelpix OI data subscription. Accelpix is the recommended data vendor.
Order Flow · NinjaTrader 8 · Chart indicator · Tutorial
Mirra Advanced OF Charts — User Tutorial
Read the footprint, the Open Interest behind every bar, and institutional microstructure — with five AI modes and a memory that learns your instrument.
OIquadrants
VPIN+ λ
AI5 modes
L2ready
Signature features · Order Flow charts
What this indicator does that others do not
The 14 capabilities traders notice first. Each one links straight to its documentation below.
Order flow that tells you if a bar opened or closed positions
Footprints show you aggression — who crossed the spread. They cannot tell you whether that aggression built new positions or closed old ones. That difference decides whether a move continues or collapses, and it only shows up when Open Interest sits beside the tape.
Without OI
Every green bar looks the same
Aggressive buying that opens new longs and aggressive buying that is really shorts covering print identically on a normal footprint.
With OI
Each bar is classified
New Long, Short Covering, New Short or Long Liquidation — the tape's intent, labelled on every single bar.
The result
You stop trading hollow moves
Covering rallies and liquidation flushes are visible for what they are, so you follow real initiative and fade the rest.
Why this is only possible on Accelpix
Open Interest updates on its own schedule, separate from the trade tape. Fusing it with per-bar order flow needs a feed that delivers OI live and keeps the history to compare against — something almost no NinjaTrader data vendor provides. Accelpix does, which is why the OI, trap and fusion features below exist in MirraCharts and nowhere else on the platform.
Live Open InterestDelivered through Pix Connect in step with the tape, so each bar can be classified as it closes.
Full OI historyPrior-session OI enables trap detection, graded absorption and session buildup from the moment you load a chart.
Fused with the footprintOI is not a separate study — it is woven into the bars, the imbalance zones and the AI read.
Open Interest features require Pix Connect with an active Accelpix OI data subscription. Everything else in the indicator works normally without it.
01
Overview
You have just received Mirra Advanced OF Charts, or you are evaluating it. This tutorial takes you from an empty NinjaTrader chart to reading order flow confidently, in the order you will actually need things.
Work through Parts 1 to 4 on your first day — that is about 20 minutes and you will be trading with it. Parts 5 to 9 explain every feature in depth; read them as you go.
Close NinjaTrader completely — the whole platform, not just the chart. Installing while it is running is the most common cause of setup problems.
Run the installer and follow the prompts. It places everything where NinjaTrader expects it.
Start NinjaTrader. The first launch prepares the product automatically and may take a few extra seconds.
Activate your licence. Open Help → About, copy your Machine ID, and email it to [email protected] from your registered address. If settings open but nothing draws, activation is the first thing to check.
Enable Open Interest (optional). The OI, Fusion and Basis features need Pix Connect and an active Accelpix OI data subscription. Without it they stay blank and safe; the rest works normally.
Your First Chart
Open a chart. Pick a liquid instrument you know well — NIFTY futures, BANKNIFTY, RELIANCE futures or a global future like ES. Set the timeframe to 5 minutes to start.
Add the indicator. Right-click → Indicators → Mirra Advanced OF Charts → Add → OK.
Set your market. Reopen the indicator settings and go to group 00. Exchange & Session:
Exchange preset → choose your exchange (NSE, MCX, CME…). This one dropdown calibrates imbalance volume, big-trade size, rows per bar and absorption range sensibly for your market.
Volume notation → INR Lakh/Crore for Indian markets (1.25L, 3.02Cr) or International K/M for global markets.
Lot mode → Auto for F&O so volumes read in lots; Off for cash equity and spot indices.
That is the entire required setup. The chart is now trading-ready.
Step 4 — Read the header. The dashboard's title line confirms your setup: ◆ MIRRA OF · NIFTY · Row 2.5 · Lot 75. Row = price per row; Lot appears only when lot mode is active. If numbers ever look smaller than you expect, check for that Lot tag — you are seeing lots, not units.
03
Reading it
Reading a Footprint
This is the core skill. Everything else supports it.
Each bar is a column of price rows. In the default BidXAsk mode, every row shows two numbers: sell volume on the left, buy volume on the right at that price. So 4,875 | 9,165 means 4,875 traded into the bid (sellers hitting) and 9,165 traded into the ask (buyers lifting) at that price.
Use case: you no longer ask "was that green candle strong?" — you see whether buyers actually paid up, and at which prices.
Above and below each bar: total volume on top, net delta underneath (green positive, red negative). Benefit: bar size and net aggression in one glance.
The coloured markers tell you what happened. The most valuable ones to learn first:
Yellow box — the bar's POC (highest-volume price). Use case: acts as a micro support/resistance on retests.
Purple band — the bar's value area, where ~70% of volume traded. Benefit:
separates real business from rejected extremes.
Green/red dots beside cells — imbalances, where one side overwhelmed the other diagonally. Use case: shows exactly which prices were fought over.
Shaded green/red zones — stacked imbalances forming support/resistance.
Benefit: these are among the highest-probability levels on the chart; they extend right until price closes through them.
Rings at the cluster edges — big trades: a green ring on the right for a large buy print, a red ring on the left for a large sell print. Use case: spot the moment a large participant steps in, and on which side.
▲ / ▼ triangles — delta divergence: price and flow disagreed. Benefit: the earliest warning that a move is running out of committed flow.
◆ diamond — delta flip: conviction changed sides with force. Use case: one of the best entry triggers when it happens at a zone or VWAP.
○ circle — absorption: heavy volume in a tiny range. Benefit: the absorbing side usually wins, so this often marks reversals.
Exercise: scroll back through yesterday's session. Find one shaded zone, then watch what price did when it returned to it. Do this three times and zones will stop being decoration and start being levels you trade.
Your First Trade Decision
Open the AI Guidance panel (top-left by default). It answers four questions in the order a trader actually asks them:
MARKET — what is happening? A headline verdict such as INITIATIVE BUYING CONFIRMED or FAILED AUCTION AT LOWS, with a confidence % and whether price is inside, above or below value. Beneath it: the key numbers (Δ, CumΔ, UT/DT, COT↑, COT↓), the session phase, and how long this verdict has held (since 14:00).
EVIDENCE — why? Five bullets: control split, flow narrative, auction type and aggression, inventory, and the nearest key level.
NEXT — what is most likely? Rotation-versus-trend odds plus the concrete trigger: "Hold above IB High 23975.00 → trend continuation; back inside → failed break."
RISK — what would invalidate this? A price: "below 23923.00 — bias voided; stand aside and reassess."
PLAN — the action line, coloured to the bias. When confidence is under 50%, it opens with "Low conviction — half size".
Use case: you are watching four charts and need to know which one deserves attention right now. Benefit: entry logic and exit logic in one card, with the numbers behind it visible so you can verify rather than trust blindly.
The Statistics Table
Below the chart sits a table with one column per bar. You choose which rows appear — 14 individual switches in group 06. Statistics.
Row
What it tells you
When it matters
Ask / Bid
Buy-side and sell-side volume
The raw split behind delta
Delta
Net aggression
The headline number for each bar
Max Δ / Min Δ
Intrabar delta extremes
Reveals a fight a single delta figure hides
COT ↑
Delta since the bar's high
Strongly negative = sellers pressed a rejected high
COT ↓
Delta since the bar's low
Strongly positive = buyers attacked a rejected low
B% / A%
Percentage split
Compares bars of different sizes fairly
Cum Δ
Session-cumulative delta
Is pressure building or stalling?
Volume
Bar total
Context for everything else
UpT / DnT Vol
Uptick and downtick volume
The tick-based read
UT/DT
Uptick/downtick ratio
Primary aggression read on Indian instruments
Trades
Trade count
Volume ÷ Trades = average trade size
Use case: most traders need three or four of these, not fourteen. Switch the rest off and the chart returns that space to price. Benefit: a table built around your method rather than someone else's.
Tip:Stats font size is separate from the footprint font, and row height auto-expands if the font would not fit — text can never be clipped.
You can also print COT ↑ / COT ↓ directly on the bars (group 04. Signals → Show COT on bars). Use case: watching continuation pressure without looking down at the table.
Levels That Matter
These are the reference prices professionals trade around. All are tagged with their price at the right edge.
VWAP — the institutional fair-value benchmark. Buyers control above it, sellers below. Use case: the single most watched intraday level; pullbacks to it are classic entries.
VWAP ±1σ / ±2σ bands — statistically stretched zones. Benefit: the ±2σ band plus a divergence marker is a high-quality mean-reversion setup.
Session VPOC (gold line) — the session's highest-volume price, computed at tick precision so it matches the Mirra Market Profile product exactly. Use case: a magnet — price repeatedly returns to it.
Developing VPOC (blue steps) — how fair value migrated through the day.
Benefit: one of the cleanest trend reads available; rising VPOC with rising price is a healthy uptrend.
Naked POCs (gold dashed rays) — prior sessions' VPOCs that price has not yet returned to. Use case: excellent profit targets and reaction levels. They can also raise an alert when touched.
Initial Balance (IB High / IB Low) — the opening period's range. Use case: a clean break signals a trend day; a failure back inside signals rotation. The AI panel's trigger and risk lines are built around these levels.
Session profile (right edge) — the volume histogram for the session. Benefit: high-volume nodes are support/resistance; low-volume gaps are where price travels fast.
Live price dot — a gold dot marking the current traded price. Use case: instantly locate where the market is trading among all these levels.
04
Feature guide
Every setting in Mirra Advanced OF Charts, in the order it appears in NinjaTrader's Properties panel. Each entry tells you what it does and why it matters, with its default and range. The defaults are trading-ready.
Group 00 · Exchange & Session
Four settings that calibrate the indicator to your market. Set these once.
Exchange preset
Default: Custom
What it does
selects a calibration profile for your market, supplying sensible values wherever a threshold is left at 0 (Auto)
Why it matters
a "big trade" on NIFTY is nothing like one on the LSE; selecting your exchange means every signal is sensibly scaled from the first bar instead of after an hour of manual tuning
Options
Custom, NSE India, BSE India, MCX India, CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX, Eurex, ICE, LSE, JPX Osaka, HKEX, SGX, ASX, B3 Brazil, Crypto
Volume notation
Default: INR Lakh/Crore
What it does
chooses how volumes are written on the chart — Indian Lakh/Crore (1.25L, 3.02Cr) or international K/M
Why it matters
numbers you read at a glance should be in the units you think in
Lot mode
Default: Off
What it does
converts displayed volumes into lots. Off shows raw units; Manual uses the lot size you enter; Auto detects it live from the trade stream and self-corrects if the exchange revises it
Why it matters
an F&O trader seeing "66 lots" of aggressive buying can act immediately; "4,950" means nothing
Lot size (manual)
Default: 1
What it does
the contract's lot size, used when Lot mode is Manual
Why it matters
exact control for a specific contract
Options
1 to 100000
Group 01 · Display
Twenty settings covering how the footprint looks and how each trade is classified.
Display mode
Default: BidXAsk
What it does
what each price row shows. BidXAsk puts sell volume and buy volume side by side (the classic footprint); Delta shows the net; Volume shows the row total; DeltaPercent shows the net as a percentage; UpTickXDownTick uses the Indian tick convention
Why it matters
BidXAsk suits most futures; switch to UpTickXDownTick on spot indices and cash equity where tick direction is the true aggression read
Delta source
Default: Auto
What it does
the single most important setting — how each trade is classified as buying or selling. Auto uses bid/ask when the feed provides a genuine spread and the tick rule otherwise; BidAsk forces spread-based; UpDownTick forces tick-direction
Why it matters
every number in the product flows from this. Auto is correct for almost everyone — it health-checks the feed and locks to the tick rule on instruments with no real spread
Theme
Default: MirraDark
What it does
MirraDark or MirraLight colour scheme
Why it matters
matching your chart background keeps every number readable
Auto-fit view on load
Default: on
What it does
widens bar spacing once when the indicator loads so footprints are legible immediately
Why it matters
you never have to stretch a chart manually. It only widens, only once — your own zooming afterwards is respected
Show central candle
Default: on
What it does
draws a slim candle down the middle of each footprint
Why it matters
keeps familiar price structure visible while you read the cluster
Auto-fit bar spacing
Default: 42
What it does
the target spacing in pixels used by auto-fit
Why it matters
raise for more room between bars on a large monitor; lower to fit more bars on screen. Raise it to around 52 if you enable the row volume column
Options
20 to 80
Show volume/delta totals
Default: on
What it does
prints total volume above and signed delta below each bar
Why it matters
the fastest read of a bar's size and net aggression
Show info dashboard
Default: on
What it does
the glass summary card with session delta, volume and the BUY/SELL and UT/DT gauges
Why it matters
a three-second read of whether the session is one-sided or balanced
Auto row size
Default: on
What it does
automatically chooses how much price each row covers
Why it matters
NIFTY, BANKNIFTY, crude and equities all become readable with zero setup, and it adapts when you change timeframe
Target rows per bar (auto)
Default: 0 (Auto)
What it does
how many rows auto-sizing aims for; 0 uses your Exchange preset's value
Why it matters
raise for finer price resolution when scalping; lower for a cleaner footprint on higher timeframes
Options
0 to 60
Row tick adjust (auto +/- ticks)
Default: 0
What it does
fine-tunes the automatic row size
Why it matters
keeps the convenience of auto-sizing while nudging granularity to taste
Options
−1000 to 1000
Ticks per row (manual)
Default: 5
What it does
fixed ticks-per-row, used only when Auto row size is off
Why it matters
total control for traders who want an exact, unchanging row size
Options
1 to 1000
Font size
Default: 11
What it does
text size for the footprint numbers
Why it matters
raise on high-resolution monitors; lower to fit more data. With Auto-scale font on, this becomes the minimum size
Options
6 to 24
Min cell volume filter
Default: 0 (show everything)
What it does
hides row volumes below this number
Why it matters
on very liquid instruments it strips out trivial prints so only meaningful volume stands out
Brand color (Accelpix / mirracharts.com)
Default: Blue
What it does
Blue or Yellow for the on-chart brand mark and statistics label accent
Why it matters
pick whichever contrasts best with your theme
Show live price dot
Default: on
What it does
a gold dot at the current traded price on the right edge
Why it matters
among VWAP, VPOC, IB and band tags, this tells you instantly where the market actually is
Auto-scale font
Default: off
What it does
grows the footprint numbers to fill the available cell space as you widen bars or rows, always capped so text never overlaps
Why it matters
large, clear values at any zoom without manual font changes;
Value color mode
Default: Classic
What it does
Classic shows neutral numbers with coloured imbalances only; SideColored paints bid values in your sell colour and ask values in your buy colour
Why it matters
the whole cluster reads directionally at a glance. Imbalance highlighting still overrides on top
Show row volume bars
Default: off
What it does
draws a translucent horizontal histogram behind each price row, sized by that row's volume
Why it matters
you see the shape of volume distribution and the exact numbers simultaneously — where the bar's business happened
Show row volume column
Default: off
What it does
adds a third slim column of row-total volume numbers inside the cluster, giving the professional volume | bid | ask arrangement
Why it matters
per-row totals without opening the statistics table; cluster geometry adapts automatically
New in this version
Group 02 · Imbalance
Finding where one side genuinely overwhelmed the other.
Imbalance ratio %
Default: 300
What it does
how lopsided a diagonal comparison must be to count as an imbalance (300 = one side is 3× the other)
Why it matters
your signal-to-noise dial. Raise to see only extreme fights; lower to catch subtler pressure
Options
100 to 10000
Min imbalance volume (0 = Auto)
Default: 0 (Auto)
What it does
the minimum volume a cell needs before it can be flagged; 0 uses your Exchange preset's value
Why it matters
prevents imbalances built on tiny prints. On index instruments with very large volumes, raising this is the single best way to reduce marker clutter
Stacked count
Default: 3
What it does
how many imbalances must stack vertically to create a support/resistance zone
Why it matters
lower to 2 for more zones on quiet instruments; raise to 4 for only the strongest institutional walls
Options
2 to 10
Highlight imbalances
Default: on
What it does
colours imbalanced cells brightly
Why it matters
makes lopsided prints jump out of the cluster
Show imbalance dots
Default: on
What it does
draws a green or red dot beside each imbalanced cell
Why it matters
a clean directional marker that stays readable when zoomed out
Show stacked S/R zones
Default: on
What it does
draws the zones created by stacked imbalances, extending right until price closes through them
Why it matters
among the highest-probability levels on the chart — the core of the zone-retest trade
Keep broken zones visible
Default: off
What it does
keeps zones on the chart after price has closed through them
Why it matters
turn on when reviewing or back-testing; leave off for a clean live chart
Group 03 · Bar Structure
The volume structure inside each individual bar.
Show bar POC boxes
Default: on
What it does
highlights each bar's Point of Control (its highest-volume price) with a yellow box
Why it matters
shows where each bar found fair value — a micro support/resistance and a magnet on retests
Show bar value area
Default: on
What it does
shades the price range holding roughly 70% of that bar's volume
Why it matters
separates where business happened from thin extremes where price was rejected
Value area %
Default: 70
What it does
the percentage of volume that defines the value area
Why it matters
70 is the market-standard definition; change only if your methodology differs
Options
30 to 95
Show unfinished auctions
Default: on
What it does
marks bar extremes that traded with volume on both sides
Why it matters
these levels are statistically likely to be revisited — excellent targets and reaction zones
Frame max bid/ask cells
Default: on
What it does
outlines the bar's largest bid cell and largest ask cell
Why it matters
locates the heaviest volume in a bar, which is where absorption and defence usually occur
Group 04 · Signals
The classic order-flow events, detected and marked for you.
Show delta divergence
Default: on
What it does
marks bars where price and delta disagree (▲ bullish, ▼ bearish)
Why it matters
the earliest warning that a move is running out of committed flow — tighten stops or prepare to fade rather than chase
Show delta flip
Default: on
What it does
marks bars where delta conviction flips sign with force (◆)
Why it matters
one of the highest-quality entry triggers at a zone, VWAP or naked POC — the moment control changes hands
Show absorption
Default: on
What it does
marks bars where large volume traded inside a very small range (○)
Why it matters
the absorbing side usually wins, making this a powerful reversal signal at extremes
Absorption volume factor
Default: 2.5
What it does
how many times the average volume a bar needs before it can count as absorption
Why it matters
raise to flag only extreme events
Options
1.0 to 20.0
Absorption max range (ticks) (0 = Auto)
Default: 0 (Auto)
What it does
the maximum bar range still considered absorption; 0 uses your preset's value
Why it matters
the essence of absorption is huge volume in a tiny range, so this keeps the definition honest for your instrument
Show big trades
Default: on
What it does
marks large prints with a ring — green on the buy side, red on the sell side, at the cluster's outer edges
Why it matters
reveals individual large participants stepping in, and on which side
Big trade size (0 = Auto)
Default: 0 (Auto)
What it does
the size that counts as a big trade; 0 uses your preset's value
Why it matters
calibrate per instrument — a good rule is 10–15× the average trade size (Volume ÷ Trades from the statistics table). Read in lots when Lot mode is on
Options
0 to 10,000,000
Big trade calculation
Default: IndividualPrint
What it does
IndividualPrint requires one single trade at a price level to reach the threshold — the true large-participant detector CumulativeRow also qualifies a level whose total buy or sell volume reaches it — an accumulation detector.
Why it matters
switch to CumulativeRow when you care about where size accumulated rather than who printed one big order
Show COT on bars
Default: off
What it does
prints C↑ above and C↓ below each bar beside the totals, in their own colours
Why it matters
continuation pressure at the extremes without looking down at the table
Group 05 · Levels & Profile
The session-level reference prices professionals trade around. All are tagged with their price at the right edge.
Show session profile
Default: on
What it does
draws the right-edge volume histogram for the session
widen for detailed shape analysis; narrow to reclaim chart space
Options
5 to 40
Show session VPOC line (gold)
Default: on
What it does
draws the session's highest-volume price at tick precision
Why it matters
the session's fair-value magnet — a prime target and decision level. Tick precision also means it matches the Mirra Market Profile product exactly
Show developing VPOC steps (blue)
Default: on
What it does
shows how the VPOC migrated through the session
Why it matters
watching fair value climb or fall in real time is one of the cleanest trend reads available
Show naked POC rays
Default: on
What it does
draws prior sessions' VPOCs that price has not yet returned to
Why it matters
"unfinished business" levels act as strong magnets — excellent profit targets; they can also raise an alert when touched
Show session VWAP
Default: on
What it does
the volume-weighted average price line
Why it matters
the institutional fair-value benchmark. Buyers control above it, sellers below
Show VWAP ±1σ/±2σ bands
Default: on
What it does
standard-deviation envelopes around VWAP, each tagged with its price
Why it matters
the ±2σ band marks statistically stretched extremes — prime mean-reversion territory, especially with a divergence marker there
Group 06 · Statistics
The numeric table beneath the chart: three controls plus fourteen row switches.
Show statistics table
Default: on
What it does
master switch for the table
Why it matters
the hard, objective numbers behind the visual footprint
Stats row height (px)
Default: 15
What it does
the height of each row
Why it matters
raise for readability, lower to fit more rows. Row height auto-expands if your font would not fit, so text can never be clipped
Options
10 to 30
Stats font size
Default: 10
What it does
text size inside the table, independent of the footprint font
Why it matters
keep large footprint numbers while running a compact table, or vice versa
Options
7 to 16
The fourteen row switches
What it does
each turns one row on or off
Why it matters
this is your table builder. Most traders need three or four rows, not fourteen; switch off the rest and the chart returns that space to price. All are on by default
Setting
What it shows
Row: Ask
buy-side volume for the bar
Row: Bid
sell-side volume for the bar
Row: Delta
net aggression (Ask − Bid), green/red tinted
Row: Max Δ
the highest the running delta reached inside the bar
Row: Min Δ
the lowest the running delta reached inside the bar
Row: COT ↑
delta accumulated since the bar's high; strongly negative means sellers pressed a rejected high
Row: COT ↓
delta accumulated since the bar's low; strongly positive means buyers attacked a rejected low
Row: B% / A%
the bid/ask percentage split
Row: Cum Δ
session-cumulative delta; is pressure building or stalling?
Row: Volume
total traded volume for the bar
Row: UpT Vol
volume traded on upticks
Row: DnT Vol
volume traded on downticks
Row: UT/DT
the uptick/downtick ratio, the primary aggression read on Indian instruments
Row: Trades
number of individual trades; Volume ÷ Trades gives average trade size
Group 07 · AI Assist
Nine settings controlling the guidance panel — the most expanded group in this version.
Show AI Assist panel
Default: on
What it does
displays the AI Guidance card, which reads VWAP position, session delta, UT/DT pressure, bar conviction, COT continuation, active zones, divergence, flips, absorption and tape pace together, then presents a verdict with confidence, supporting evidence, the likely next move with its trigger, the invalidation price and a plan line
Why it matters
a fast second opinion that also teaches — the numbers behind the verdict are visible, so you verify rather than trust blindly. It is fully local and deterministic: the same data always produces the same reading
AI mode
Default: Pro
What it does
chooses how the panel communicates. Pro — full professional terminology and the complete card. Beginner — the same intelligence in plain English, with confidence expressed as SETUP READY with a ✓/✗ checklist, entry price, stop price and the risk in money only when conditions stack.
Why it matters
one dropdown fits the product to the trader, from first week to full professional — and customers can move up as they learn without the numbers underneath ever changing meaning
AI panel position
Default: TopLeft
What it does
places the panel in any of the four chart corners
Why it matters
move it wherever it does not cover your price action; each position is aware of the dashboard, statistics table and brand marks so nothing overlaps
AI panel layout
Default: GuidanceCard
What it does
the panel's design in Pro and Beginner modes GuidanceCard is the full card; TerminalCompact is a condensed four-line card with a bias-coloured accent bar; MinimalStrip is a single rounded pill with verdict, confidence, odds, risk price and update time.
Why it matters
choose the information density that suits your screen and style
AI colour mode
Default: Theme
What it does
Theme follows your MirraDark/MirraLight selection; Custom unlocks the three pickers below.
Why it matters
the panel can match any chart scheme you have built
AI panel background / AI text colour / AI accent colour
What it does
the custom palette used when AI colour mode is Custom
Why it matters
these flow through every mode and layout, so your chosen scheme is consistent wherever the panel appears
Coach: entry/stop marks on chart
Default: on
What it does
when Coach mode reaches SETUP READY, draws the entry and stop levels directly on the chart
Why it matters
beginners read space better than text — seeing the two prices marked is clearer than reading them
Group 08 · Auction Levels
Show level price labels
Default: on
What it does
draws price tags at the right edge for VWAP, VPOC, the VWAP bands and the active Initial Balance
Why it matters
you always know the exact price of your key levels without hovering — essential when placing orders quickly
Show Initial Balance lines
Default: on
What it does
marks the high and low of the session's opening period
Why it matters
breaks and holds of the Initial Balance are core session-structure trades, and the AI panel's trigger and risk lines are built around these levels
Initial Balance minutes
Default: 60
What it does
the length of the opening period
Why it matters
match your market's convention; 60 minutes is the global standard, though some Indian traders prefer 30
Highlight fast tape
Default: on
What it does
turns the volume total orange when the bar's trade pace reaches roughly 2× average
Why it matters
spots bursts of urgent activity that a static volume number would hide — often the signature of news or a large participant entering
Group 09 · View Range
View range
Default: All
What it does
plots All bars, Current Session Only, or a Custom Range between two timestamps
Why it matters
isolate a single session or a specific window for focused study; the session profile rebuilds for exactly the range you select
Range start / Range end
What it does
define the Custom Range window
Why it matters
review a specific event day, or run two chart instances side by side (yesterday versus today) for a true comparison of two sessions' order flow
Group 10 · Alerts
Twenty-one settings: five global controls, then an on/off switch and a sound file for each of the eight events.
Enable alerts
Default: off
What it does
the master switch
Why it matters
lets you step away from the screen and be called back only when something you care about happens
Default alert sound
Default: Alert2.wav
What it does
the sound used by any event without its own
Why it matters
pick something distinctive so you recognise a Mirra alert instantly
Alert cooldown (sec, per event)
Default: 10
What it does
suppresses repeats of the same event type within this window
Why it matters
in a choppy market a single event type can fire repeatedly — the cooldown keeps alerts useful
Options
0 to 600 (0 disables)
Alerts active from (HH:mm) / Alerts active until (HH:mm)
What it does
restrict alerts to a time window The eight event pairs — each event has an on/off switch and its own sound file (leave the sound blank to use the default).
Why it matters
no alerts during pre-open noise or after you close your desk. Overnight windows (18:00 to 02:00 on MCX) are handled correctly
Defaults: 00:00 and 23:59.
All eight event switches are on by default, but nothing fires until Enable alerts is switched on.
Setting
What it shows
Alert: stacked zone + Zone sound (blank = default)
a new stacked S/R zone formed
Alert: divergence + Divergence sound
delta divergence detected
Alert: delta flip + Flip sound
conviction flipped sign with force
Alert: unfinished auction + Unfinished sound
a bar extreme printed an unfinished auction
Alert: big trade + Big trade sound
a print reached your big-trade threshold
Alert: naked POC touch + Naked POC sound
price touched a prior session's untested VPOC
Alert: AI strong bias + AI bias sound
the AI verdict became strongly directional
Alert: Coach setup ready + Coach sound
Coach mode reached the SETUP READY stage
Group 11 · Institutional Data (L2+)
Advanced order-book features. Off by default — they require a Level 2 / depth-of-market subscription.
Data level
Default: Auto
What it does
Auto, Level 1, Level 2, or Tick-by-Tick
Why it matters
tells the indicator what your feed provides so it uses the richest data available
Enable institutional (L2) features
Default: off
What it does
the master switch for the depth features below
Why it matters
unlocks order-book analysis for subscribers with depth. If depth is not detected, a one-time notice appears and the footprints continue working perfectly
Show book-pressure gauge
What it does
adds a BOOK gauge summing resting bid versus ask size across the top levels
Why it matters
shows where passive liquidity is leaning, which often precedes where price can and cannot go
Show liquidity walls
What it does
draws the largest resting orders on each side as labelled level lines
Why it matters
hidden support and resistance that no price chart reveals — large players showing their hand
Wall min resting size
What it does
the minimum resting size that counts as a wall
Why it matters
tune per instrument so only genuine walls are drawn
Show iceberg zones
What it does
marks prices where resting size keeps refilling as it is hit
Why it matters
reveals a large hidden order being worked quietly — classic institutional accumulation or defence
Iceberg refill count
What it does
how many refills are needed before a zone is flagged
Why it matters
raise to reduce false positives, lower to catch icebergs sooner
Book gauge depth levels
What it does
how many book levels the gauge sums
Why it matters
widen for a broader liquidity picture, narrow to focus on the top of book
Group 12 · Marker Colors
Twelve colour pickers and one size control. Every choice saves with your chart template, so your setup travels with you.
Marker size %
Default: 100
What it does
scales all signal markers together 4K monitors the default markers can look small; on a busy scalping chart you may want them subtler. One dial adjusts them all proportionally.
Why it matters
on
Options
50 to 200
Why this group matters: traders are highly personal about chart colours, and colour-blind traders often need specific palettes. Each picker changes one marker only, so you can make the signals you trade loud and the rest quiet.
Setting
What it shows
Divergence bullish ▲
the bullish divergence triangle
Divergence bearish ▼
the bearish divergence triangle
Delta flip ◆
the delta-flip diamond
Absorption ○
the absorption circle
Unfinished auction
the dash at bar extremes
Big trade ring
the ring marking large prints
Max bid/ask frame
the frames around each bar's largest bid and ask cells
Buy zone
buy zones; one pick recolours both the shaded fill and its border
Sell zone
sell zones, same behaviour
Fast tape highlight
the volume total when trade pace hits ~2× average
COT positive (C↑/C↓ on bars)
on-bar COT values when positive
COT negative (C↑/C↓ on bars)
on-bar COT values when negative
05
Open Interest
Open Interest on the footprint
Order flow shows you the aggression behind each trade; Open Interest shows you whether that aggression opened or closed positions. Mirra fuses the two so every bar is classified not just by delta, but by what the delta did to committed positioning.
Delta × OI quadrant class
NL · SC · NS · LL
What it does
Classifies every bar by combining its delta direction with its OI change: New Long, Short Covering, New Short, or Long Liquidation.
Why it matters
This is the single most useful order-flow upgrade OI brings. A green bar that is 'New Long' is real buying; a green bar that is 'Short Covering' is a trap waiting to fail.
OI quadrant strip
toggle
What it does
Draws the per-bar classification as a colour strip beneath the footprints.
Why it matters
Lets you scan a whole session's commitment story at a glance — runs of New Longs versus runs of Short Covering jump out.
OI-confirmed imbalance outlines
solid / dashed
What it does
Outlines imbalance zones solid when OI expanded there and dashed when it contracted.
Why it matters
An imbalance built on expanding OI is a level real money is defending. A dashed one is far weaker. You stop trading every imbalance equally.
OI traps & graded absorption
OI trap detection
hourglass marker · OITRAP
What it does
Flags bars where a prior buildup reverses hard against the trapped side — an OI trap — and can alert on it.
Why it matters
Trapped traders must exit, and their forced exit fuels the move against them. Trap markers point at the highest-energy reversals on the chart.
OI-graded absorption
ring marker
What it does
Grades absorption by whether OI was expanding or contracting while the absorbing happened.
Why it matters
Absorption into expanding OI is fresh defence that tends to hold; into contracting OI it's exits — the grade tells you which to trust.
06
Volume × OI Fusion
Volume × OI Fusion & the OI read
The same fusion engine that powers Market Profile runs on the footprint, distilling commitment into decisive levels and a single conviction score.
Conviction POC (C-POC)
auto
What it does
The price where open interest was densest relative to volume for the session.
Why it matters
The level committed money will defend — often the true pivot a plain VPOC misses.
Flow-mix & ACI
1–99
What it does
Splits session OI flow into Fresh / Unwind / Churn and rates overall conviction on a 1–99 Auction Conviction Index.
Why it matters
One line and one number tell you whether today's order flow is new money worth following or unwinding worth fading. Committed days hold; uncommitted days chop.
Positioning cost basis & trapped inventory
L-CB · S-CB
What it does
Estimates the average price where longs and shorts built their positions, and flags trapped inventory when one side is offside.
Why it matters
Shows you the fuel for the next squeeze — trapped shorts above price are a magnet; trapped longs below are flush risk.
A layer of professional microstructure measures usually found only on institutional desks, computed live from the tape and (where available) the order book.
VPIN (flow toxicity)
≥0.65 = toxic
What it does
Measures how one-sided recent flow is — how 'toxic' it is to the resting side.
Why it matters
High VPIN warns that informed, aggressive flow is running; it often precedes sharp directional moves and is a signal to widen stops or stand aside.
Kyle's λ (price impact)
ticks / 1K lots
What it does
Estimates how far price moves per unit of order flow — the market's current sensitivity.
Why it matters
A high λ means thin liquidity where small orders push price; a low λ means depth. It tells you how hard the market will move if you size up.
Microprice
toggle · L2
What it does
A size-weighted mid price from the best bid and ask, marking where price is truly leaning.
Why it matters
Leads the last-traded price at turns — when the microprice pulls away from the mid, the next tick's direction is often already decided.
Positioning P&L map
auto
What it does
Maps where longs and shorts built during the session and shades the levels where each side is now underwater.
Why it matters
A visual pain map — the underwater clusters are exactly where forced exits and squeezes tend to ignite.
08
Basis Analytics
Basis Analytics — futures versus spot
Supply a spot symbol and Mirra tracks the futures-to-spot basis, its trend and its stretch, fusing premium and discount into the order-flow read.
Basis line & regime
EnableBasis · Spot symbol
What it does
Live basis in points and percent with a premium/discount regime and a stretch z-score, fused into the AI read.
Why it matters
Premium expanding into a rally confirms it; a slide to discount warns of unwinding. It sharpens every order-flow decision with a positioning lens.
Basis alerts
BASISFLIP · BASISX
What it does
Fires on a premium/discount flip or an extreme stretch.
Why it matters
Basis often turns before price — an early heads-up at reversals.
09
AI Assist
AI Assist — five modes for the footprint
The order-flow AI reads VWAP position, session delta, UT/DT pressure, bar conviction, COT and the full OI and fusion stack, then presents it in the voice you choose under 07. AI Assist.
Pro
default
What it does
The full institutional order-flow card with ranked evidence, dual-scenario confidence, invalidation and a plan.
Why it matters
Everything the engine sees on the tape and the book, for traders who want the complete read.
Beginner
plain English
What it does
The same read in plain words with confidence described, not numbered.
Why it matters
Learn to read order flow by reading what it means, bar by bar.
Simple
traffic light
What it does
A pill plus three one-line sentences — what's happening, what to do, when you're wrong.
Why it matters
A five-second decision with a built-in stop.
Coach
staged
What it does
A patience coach that builds a ✓/✗ checklist and prints entry, stop and rupee risk when a setup is genuinely ready.
Why it matters
Stops you entering order-flow setups early — the most common beginner mistake.
Debate
bull vs bear
What it does
Lays out the bull and bear cases as a tug-of-war, ranks the evidence on each side, and reports an honest stalemate when the tape is genuinely two-sided.
Why it matters
When the market is undecided, this mode shows you exactly why — and keeps you out of a coin-flip.
10
Mirra Memory
Mirra Memory — order flow that learns
Like its Market Profile sibling, the order-flow suite keeps a private per-instrument ledger, grading its own reads and calibrating its confidence to how it has actually performed on your instrument. It publishes its key readings into the shared memory so the whole suite learns together.
Self-grading confidence
auto
What it does
Snapshots each read, grades it against what followed, and calibrates future confidence over a rolling window.
Why it matters
The order-flow read you see is tuned to its real track record on your instrument — and it shows you the score.
Shared memory bridge
auto
What it does
Publishes its live readings (VWAP, delta, VPIN, λ, ACI, C-POC, trapped inventory, basis and more) into one shared record the whole Mirra suite contributes to.
Why it matters
Chart and scanner draw on the same learned history, so every Mirra surface agrees and improves in step.
11
Alerts
Where your alerts appear
Every Mirra alert is raised through NinjaTrader's own alert system, so it behaves exactly like a platform alert rather than a line buried in a log file. Open it from the Control Center menu: New → Alerts Log. Keep that window docked beside your charts and it becomes a running feed of everything the indicators and scanners have spotted — across every instrument you have loaded.
Open the window. In the NinjaTrader Control Center, choose New → Alerts Log.
Dock it where you can see it. Drag the window into your workspace — many traders park it under the chart or on a second monitor.
Turn alerts on in the indicator. Open the settings and go to the Alerts group, switch the master toggle on, then enable just the events you care about.
Save the workspace so the Alerts Log opens with your layout every morning.
How every alert behaves
Colour-coded priority
green · red · grey
What it does
Each alert is raised with a priority that NinjaTrader renders as a coloured band in the Alerts Log — green for bullish events, red for bearish, grey for neutral.
Why it matters
You can triage a busy list at a glance and act on direction before you read a single word.
Audible cue
Alert2.wav by default
What it does
Plays a sound file from NinjaTrader's sounds folder whenever an alert fires. Point it at any .wav you like, including a full path to your own file.
Why it matters
Lets you work on something else and still be called back the moment a setup appears — the whole point of running a scanner.
Message with the numbers
instrument · event · value
What it does
Every entry names the instrument, the event and the number behind it, so the alert is actionable without opening the chart first.
Why it matters
You can decide whether an alert is worth a chart from the Alerts Log line alone.
Re-arm cooldown
per event / per symbol
What it does
After an alert fires, that same event stays silent for the cooldown period before it can fire again.
Why it matters
Stops one choppy instrument from flooding the log and burying the alerts that matter.
Order flow alert events
Order flow moves fast, so these alerts are built to catch the handful of events actually worth looking up for. Each one has its own toggle in the Alerts settings group.
Big trade
≥ Big trade size
What it does
Fires when a single print lands at or above your big-trade threshold.
Why it matters
Size is the clearest footprint institutions leave. This tells you the moment one shows up.
Absorption
ring marker
What it does
Fires when heavy volume is absorbed inside a very small range.
Why it matters
Absorption at an extreme is one of the highest-quality reversal signals on a footprint chart.
Exhaustion
bar signal
What it does
Fires when aggressive one-sided flow stops producing price movement.
Why it matters
Marks the point where a push is running out of fuel — often just before the turn.
Delta reversal
Δ flip
What it does
Fires when session delta flips direction decisively.
Why it matters
A delta flip is the earliest sign that control of the session is changing hands.
Delta divergence
Bull / Bear
What it does
Fires when price makes a new extreme but delta does not confirm it.
Why it matters
Divergence is the classic order-flow warning that a move is hollow.
Stacked imbalance
×3 and above
What it does
Fires when several diagonal imbalances stack into a zone.
Why it matters
Stacked zones are the highest-probability support and resistance the footprint produces.
OI trap
OITRAP
What it does
Fires when a prior buildup reverses hard against the trapped side.
Why it matters
Trapped traders must exit, and that forced exit fuels the move against them — the highest-energy event in the product. Requires an active Accelpix OI data subscription.
Basis events
BASISFLIP · BASISX
What it does
Fires when the basis flips premium-to-discount or stretches to an extreme.
Why it matters
Positioning often turns before price, so this is a genuinely leading alert.
Coach setup ready
staged
What it does
When the Coach AI mode completes its checklist, it raises an alert and marks entry and stop on the chart.
Why it matters
You can leave Coach running and be called only when a full setup has actually formed — not before.
Alert settings
Enable alerts
master toggle · default off
What it does
The master switch for every order-flow alert.
Why it matters
Silence the whole product in one click when you are reviewing rather than trading.
Per-event toggles
one per event
What it does
Independent on/off for each event type above.
Why it matters
Scalpers and swing traders want very different subsets — run only what you trade.
Alert sound
Alert2.wav
What it does
The sound played on each alert; any .wav from NinjaTrader's sounds folder or a full path.
Why it matters
Give order flow its own sound so you know which tool is calling you.
Re-arm / cooldown
seconds
What it does
How long an event waits before it may fire again.
Why it matters
Order flow can repeat quickly; the cooldown keeps a single busy instrument from drowning the log.
Active window
session hours
What it does
Restricts alerting to the part of the session you actually trade.
Why it matters
No pre-open or post-close noise — alerts only when you are at the desk.
12
Workflows
Alerts: Trading Without Watching
Group 10. Alerts. Seven events can alert independently: stacked zone, divergence, delta flip, unfinished auction, big trade, naked POC touch, and AI strong bias.
Each has its own on/off switch and its own sound file.Use case: give zones a bell and big trades a chime — you learn which signal fired without looking at the screen.
Two settings make alerts livable:
Alert cooldown (seconds) — suppresses repeats of the same event type.
Benefit: a choppy market cannot machine-gun your speakers.
Alerts active from / until — for example 09:15 to 15:30. Benefit: silence outside market hours. Overnight windows (18:00 to 02:00 for MCX) work correctly.
A practical starting setup: enable alerts 09:15–15:30, cooldown 30 seconds, and switch on only stacked zone, delta flip and naked POC touch — the three events most traders act on. Leave the rest visible on the chart but silent.
Your Daily Routine
Open your charts and confirm the exchange preset and lot mode in the header
Check the AI panel on each — the headline tells you which chart is in play
Mark the levels you will trade around: VWAP, VPOC, IB High/Low, any naked POC
Wait for a level test — watch the footprint at that level for absorption, a
delta flip, or a stacked zone holding
Take the trade with an invalidation price, using the RISK line as a starting
reference
Let alerts watch the rest while you focus on your one chart
The discipline that makes order flow work: do not trade in the middle of the range. Wait for price to reach a level where the footprint can tell you something.
Quick Setup by Instrument
Instrument
Key settings
NIFTY / BANKNIFTY futures
Delta source Auto · Exchange preset NSE India · Lot mode Auto
Spot indices (NIFTY_I)
Delta source UpDownTick · Display UpTickXDownTick · Lot mode Off
Stock futures
Delta source Auto · Lot mode Auto · 5–15 minute charts
Cash equity
Delta source UpDownTick · Lot mode Off · Big trade ≈ 10× average trade
Options (index / stock)
Lot mode Auto or Manual · Big trade tuned to premium size
MCX commodities
Delta source Auto · correct trading-hours template so sessions reset
Global futures (ES/NQ/CL)
Matching Exchange preset · Delta source Auto
Settings That Are Commonly Misread
"My volumes suddenly look small." Lot mode is on and you are reading lots. The dashboard header shows a · Lot 75 tag when this is active.
"Big trade rings appear too often." Raise Big trade size — and remember it is read in lots when Lot mode is on. Also check Big trade calculation: CumulativeRow qualifies more levels by design than IndividualPrint.
"A threshold shows 0." That is the Auto convention, not an empty setting — 0 means "use my Exchange preset's calibrated value". Type any number to override it permanently.
"Some cells show 0 on one side." On instruments without a genuine bid/ask spread — spot indices and cash equity — classification uses the tick rule, so each trade is either an uptick or a downtick, never both. For decision-grade delta on a stock, use the futures contract.
"A bar shows no cluster and says 'no tick data'." That bar has volume but no tick data behind it, usually because tick backfill is lagging the minute feed. Right-click the chart →
Reload All Historical Data once the feed has caught up.
Built by MirraCharts. Accelpix is the recommended data vendor for Mirra products. Trading in securities and derivatives involves substantial risk. Mirra Advanced OF Charts is a decision-support tool and does not constitute investment advice.
FAQ
Common questions
Why do some cells show 0 on one side?
On instruments without a genuine bid/ask spread — spot indices such as NIFTY_I, and cash equity — classification uses the tick rule, so each trade is either an uptick or a downtick, never both. Real data, not a gap. For decision-grade delta on a stock, use the futures contract, where a real spread exists.
Why are there blank gaps inside a cluster?
Those are prices where no volume traded — price gapped through them. Mirra does not draw empty rows so the real data stays readable. Coarser rows remove the gaps.
Why did my volumes suddenly get smaller?
Lot mode is on and you are reading lots. Check the dashboard header — if it shows · Lot 75, that is why. Set Lot mode to Off for raw units.
My big-trade rings appear too often.
Raise Big trade size (a good rule is 10–15× average trade size, which is Volume ÷ Trades from the statistics table), and remember it is read in lots when lot mode is on. Also check whether Big trade calculation is set to CumulativeRow, which qualifies more levels by design.
Which version am I running?
Bottom-right of the chart, next to the brand mark.
Do I need anything extra for the OI and microstructure features?
The OI, Fusion and Basis features need Pix Connect with an active Accelpix OI data subscription. The microprice and liquidity-book features additionally need a Level 2 depth subscription. Everything stays blank and safe without the data; the core footprint works normally.
What does the NL / SC / NS / LL classification mean?
It classifies each bar by delta and OI change: New Long (real buying), Short Covering (shorts closing — weaker), New Short (real selling), Long Liquidation (longs exiting). It separates genuine initiative from covering and liquidation.
What is VPIN and when should I care?
VPIN measures how toxic (one-sided) recent flow is. Above about 0.65 it warns that informed, aggressive flow is running — a cue to widen stops or stand aside, because sharp directional moves often follow.
What is the basis and how do I use it?
The basis is the gap between the futures and the underlying spot. Premium building into a rally confirms conviction; a slide to discount warns of unwinding. Supply a spot symbol to enable it.
Where do Mirra alerts appear in NinjaTrader?
They are raised through NinjaTrader's own alert system, so they appear in the Alerts Log — open it from the Control Center with New then Alerts Log. Each entry carries a coloured band (green bullish, red bearish, grey neutral) and plays a sound.
Why am I not getting any alerts?
Check three things in order: the master alerts toggle is on, the specific event you expect is enabled, and the Alerts Log window is actually open. If everything is on but there is no sound, confirm the .wav file name exists in NinjaTrader's sounds folder or supply a full path.
How do I stop one instrument flooding the alerts log?
Raise the re-arm cooldown. After an alert fires, that same event stays silent for the cooldown period before it can fire again, so a single choppy symbol cannot bury everything else.
Download from either page, then activate with your Machine ID. Every Mirra indicator is exclusive to Accelpix Live Data subscribers and optimised for the Accelpix feed. The Open Interest features need an active Accelpix OI data subscription — Accelpix is the recommended data vendor.
